Author - Jerry Paxton

Fast & Furious – Supercharged Preview During Super Bowl

2015/01/30

Universal City, California, January 30, 2015 – Universal Studios Hollywood^SM shifts into high gear with the debut of an innovative, national 30-second commercial for its summer 2015 launch of the “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” thrill ride during NBC’s Super Bowl Pre-Game coverage on Sunday, February 1, 2015.

The gripping spot will jump-start Universal Studios Hollywood’s campaign for the eagerly-anticipated opening of “Fast & Furious—Supercharged,” a high-octane, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride and new grand finale to the world-famous Studio Tour.

“What better place is there than the Super Bowl to launch a campaign where millions of viewers huddle for non-stop, edge-of-your-seat suspense,” said Larry Kurzweil, President, Universal Studios Hollywood. “In just 30, thrilling seconds, our compelling spot resonates with the exhilaration this immersive thrill ride will deliver when it opens at Universal Studios Hollywood this summer.”

“Fast & Furious—Supercharged” will reunite stars from the Fast & Furious series in a groundbreaking mega-attraction, conceived as a new installment to the dynamic film franchise that can only be experienced at The Entertainment Capital of L.A. Featuring Vin Diesel (Dominic “Dom” Toretto), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) and Luke Evans (Owen Shaw), “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” will catapult guests into the high-stakes underground world of fast cars in a harrowing escapade to save one of their own from an international crime cartel.

The dynamic hydraulic motion-based ride will tell an original Fast & Furious story that fuses sophisticated hyper-realistic special effects with a state-of-the-art 3D audio system and 3D-HD imagery, projected onto the world’s longest and most expansive 360-degree screen. Spanning nearly 400 feet in length to encircle Studio Tour guests within a newly constructed 65,000-square-foot structure on the legendary backlot, the sprawling custom-built screen will employ 34, 4K projectors and a sophisticated projection configuration system to fully envelope guests in unprecedented realism.

Coupled with an intense blend of thrilling visceral effects, “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” will take guests on a wild ride that begins the moment they board the Studio Tour. Exclusive interstitial content, filmed with the cast members, will be featured on the tram monitors highlighting interactions as they engage guests en route to the ride’s climatic scenes. Along the tram route and featured at the ride, sightings of numerous prop cars from the Fast & Furious series, including Dom’s iconic Dodge Charger, will enhance the story.

The adventure will culminate with spectacular action sequences that send guests careening through the streets of Los Angeles—at perceived speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour—aided by the elite team of unforgettable heroes.

Please click here to see Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” Super Bowl commercial which will be accessible in conjunction with the spot’s national airing. Join the conversation online using #FastFuriousRide, and for all the latest news, ‘Like’ us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @UniStudios.

Battlefield Hardline Open Beta Date

2015/01/30

Jerry Paxton

News, PlayStation 3 News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News, Xbox One News

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – January 29, 2015 – Visceral Games™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio, today announced thatBattlefield Hardline™, the next installment in the critically-acclaimed Battlefield™ series, will host an open multiplayer beta from February 3* to February 8. The beta will be available to all players around the world on Origin™ for PC, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system. Visceral Games also today released a new trailer that gives gamers an in-depth look at how new innovations with story, speed and strategy in single player and multiplayer are helping to make Battlefield Hardline a complete first person shooter experience. To see “What’s New in Battlefield Hardline” visit

“There’s nothing more valuable to our team than the relationship we have with our community. Their passion feeds our passion and their feedback has definitely helped make Hardline a better game,” said Steve Papoutsis, General Manager of Visceral Games and Executive Producer of Battlefield Hardline. “We want them to play the hell out of the beta next week and trust that they’ll keep that feedback coming so we can continue to fine tune the game.”

Battlefield Hardline builds on the foundation of the franchise’s signature multiplayer experience focused on team play and strategy and adds a new dimension of speed, making it the fastest Battlefield game ever. The open beta will feature three different maps and modes highlighting this cops and criminals fantasy world. The all-new Hotwire mode brings high-speed chases to the battlefield, as the criminals attempt to steal a list of marked cars while the cops try to repossess them. Available on two maps in the beta, Downtown and Dust Bowl, success in Hotwire will be predicated on teamwork and precision driving. Players can also experience the Battlefield franchise’s signature mode Conquest in Dust Bowl, with epic battles for up to 64 players**. And finally, the beta will also feature Heist, another new mode being introduced in Battlefield Hardline. Playable on the map Bank Job, the mode will pit criminals trying to pull off that big score and break into a bank vault, securing their take at drop off points in the map while a squad of cops work together to stop them.

The Battlefield Hardline beta will also provide access to the full breadth of multiplayer progression in the game, which features fresh new weapons, vehicles, gadgets and gear. Players will have to create new strategies on the battlefield with faster getaway methods like the zipline and muscle cars, or new entry tactics with the grappling hook and non-lethal takedown options like arrests, interrogations and stun guns. On top of all this, the beta will give the first look at another game mode called Hacker. This takes surveillance to the next level as one player on each side can hack the battlefield in different ways including hacking into security cameras, spotting enemies and specifying areas for their team to attack or defend. Hacker mode will be playable on all modes in the beta.

Battlefield Hardline brings the awe-inspiring, only-in-Battlefield destruction moments to LA and Miami in chaotic urban warfare. Powered by the Frostbite™ 3 game engine, Battlefield Hardline delivers an episodic single player campaign that follows rookie Miami Police Detective, Nick Mendoza, through a story of crime and revenge. This is brought to life by a veteran cast of Hollywood acting and writing talent, including Alexandra Daddario from True Detective, Wendy Calhoun from Justified, and Benito Martinez from The Shield.

Battlefield Hardline will be available March 17 in North America, beginning March 19 in Europe and March 20 in the UK on Origin for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Players can pre-order Battlefield Hardline now by visiting http://www.battlefield.com/hardline/buy. To join the conversation on Battlefield Hardline, please www.facebook.com/battlefield, follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/battlefield, or sign up for the official Battlefield newsletter at www.battlefield.com.

Fractured Space Gets New Ships

2015/01/29

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

$fractured-space-corvette$

January 29, 2015 — Today, Edge Case Games adds more heft to its team-based tactical space combat PC game, Fractured Space, currently in Early Access on Steam. Adding Titan Defense Systems as a third ship manufacturer, today’s update introduces two new ships—the Corvette and the Enforcer—to the stable of colossal spacecraft players can command. To celebrate the update, the game is now 25% off on Steam for a limited time—it’s a great time to join epic, highly strategic space battles!

With a background as a military warship supplier, Titan Defense Systems has now expanded to manufacturing their own capital ships with their first entry in the game, the Corvette. This general support craft comes equipped with an aimed repair beam and a variant of Titan’s so-called “smart weaponry” known as the Smart Gun. The ship’s drones can shield the Corvette and its allies from enemy fire while increasing friendly targeting and damage.

Designed for the close-range capture of mining station, the new Enforcer from Zarek Industrial has been added to the fray. Enforcers have systems designed to allow the ship to get close to an enemy and prevent its escape before unleashing its unique Escalate weapon that uses the target’s own energy against it with escalating damage.

The addition of these new ships comes on the heels of major updates including:

Loadout System that allows players to customize ship configuration before battle
First ship skins for the game’s gigantic capital spaceships
Initial leaderboards for tracking stats
New Founders Pack tier

These new features were chosen with community input in keeping with Edge Case’s firm commitment to an open development process that keeps players in close contact with the development team through weekly playtest sessions and shared development plans.

Fractured Space is the tactical space combat PC title that puts players in command of gigantic capital ships to engage in team-based battles that combine the intensity of a shooter with the big picture thinking of a strategy game. Each ship in Fractured Space looks and plays very differently, and every match features deep team tactics with multiple sectors and battles to capture stations that control the resource production necessary for leveling up ships for your team. The game currently has eight unique ships with more on the way and new features are being added on a regular basis with community input. Fractured Space is currently available on Steam Early Access before transitioning to a wider free-to-play release in 2015.

Players can get insights on the new manufacturer and ship designs and how they impact the game in a new developer diary video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBgOQeLBOJg&feature=youtu.be

Goetia Preview Now Available

2015/01/29

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, Mac PC News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

January 29th, Lannion, France — Imagine that you get back to your family manor after over 40 years, to discover the mystery from the past, that had forever changed your life and the lives of your loved ones. Imagine that you’re all alone in an old, abandoned house that you used to know so well. Imagine that you’re looking for clues, trying to figure out what led to the downfall of Blackwood Manor. And the only problem is… that you are dead.

Goetia is a point-and-click adventure game set in a haunted English mansion in the middle of World War II. You take control of Abigail Blackwood, a girl who died some 40 years previously and now returned to discover the mystery of her getting back from the dead and her perverted and mad lineage. A clan whose final members devoted their life to mysticism and fanatical experiments. You have no idea what happened during those 40 years, neither who and why brought you back but, you are dedicated to discover this mystery. In the end you are already dead, so what worse than that could possibly happen?

Unlike other adventure games where you collect objects, combine and use them to solve the puzzle, here you need to become an object to push the story further. Remember that you are a ghost, and as a ghost, you can walk through walls and fly through ceilings, you can explore everywhere as you see fit. But to manipulate objects, you’ll have to possess them, just like a real poltergeist would. And once you possess an object, you can’t pass through walls anymore…

After a successful campaign on Square Enix Collective platform and winning the Artistic Award at the European Indie Games Days back in December 2014, the team behind Goetia is now seeking support on Kickstarter looking for $30,000 fund to be able to finish the game. You can help the team achieve this goal by visiting the campaign website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/438269196/goetia and becoming one of the backers or by spreading the word about the game and Abigail’s adventure.

The team behind the game is France-based Sushee game development studio: http://sushee.fr supported by a French artist Moeity: http://www.moeity.com. Goetia is being developed on PC and Mac and will be available in French and English.

To learn more about the game visit Goetia’s official website: http://playgoetia.com/en/home/,Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Offworld Trading Company Revealed with Trailer

2015/01/29

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Plymouth, MI – January 28, 2015 – Stardock and Mohawk Games pulled back the curtain today onOffworld Trading Company, the highly anticipated return of Civilization IV designer Soren Johnson to the traditional PC gaming world. Offworld Trading Company is headed for Steam Early Access on February 12, and the publisher revealed the first gameplay footage today, showcasing its fast-paced, cutthroat economic competition across its single-player campaign, Internet multiplayer, and AI skirmish modes.

Offworld Trading Company is available today for pre-purchase directly through publisher Stardock at http://offworldgame.com/store. For a limited time, the game will be discounted to $35.99 off of its regular $39.99 as a token of appreciation for the support of those first players through the door.

The initial Early Access version of Offworld Trading Company allows players to compete head to head or in free-for-all matches over the Internet, explore the dynamic single-player campaign that responds to your choices and the outcomes of the scenarios, and skirmish against the advanced AI that is already more than capable of wiping the floor with unsuspecting players.

Offworld Trading Company is a new direction for real-time strategy, where money is both your deadliest weapon and toughest defense. After the Earth is tapped out and the asteroids claimed by faceless megacorporations, the stark Martian surface is the final frontier on which dreamers and entrepreneurs can make something of themselves by staking their claim to the red planet’s abundant resources and building an economic engine capable of out-producing the competition.

The real-time, player-driven market is the foundation of the game, allowing players to buy and sell resources, materials, and even the food and water their colonists need to survive. Only by buying low and selling high – and perhaps engaging in a little more overt market manipulation with hacker arrays, black-market pirate raids, and more – can players build up enough capital to gain access to the incredibly lucrative offworld markets that bring in the cash they need to buy out their rivals and claim the Martian economy for themselves.

Mohawk Games is heavily invested in community-driven development – not only has the game been played by early adopters for months already, but the team will be livestreaming its own playtests and engaging with the community every week. Tune in to http://www.twitch.tv/mohawkgames every Thursday at noon Pacific (3pm Eastern) to see the latest on Offworld Trading Company development.

For more on Offworld Trading Company, please visit http://offworldgame.com and check out the Mohawk Games blog at http://mohawkgames.com.

For more on Stardock, go to http://www.stardock.com.

Trailer

Take On Mars 2015 Road Map Released

2015/01/28

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

January 28, 2015 — Bohemia Interactive today published the 2015 roadmap to release for their space exploration sim game, Take On Mars – which is currently available as an Early Access title on Steam.

The highlights of the roadmap are the planned completion of the survival elements, the addition of a competitive and cooperative multiplayer mode, the integration of the manned mission into the Space Program campaign. Take On Mars is scheduled to transition from Alpha to Beta at the start of April, after which the team will focus on bug-fixing and optimization, plus preparing in-game video tutorials. The official full release (version 1.0) of the game is planned for June 2015.

Martin Melicharek, Project Lead on Take On Mars:
“Many, myself included, are looking forward to the addition of the Manned section to the Space Program mode, and we sincerely hope not to disappoint. This will be story driven, focusing on survival in a catastrophic failure scenario. I am sure this culmination to the Space Program mode will whet the appetite for playing with friends online in the Cooperative or planned Competitive modes. I hope to meet many of you on the surface of our red neighbour.”

More intel on Take On Mars’ Roadmap to Release 2015 can be found in Martin Melicharek’s latest devblog.

To enlist as a rover operator and/or astronaut, people can already pick up the Early Access version of Take On Mars on Steam and Store.bistudio.com. For more information, please visit takeonmars.com and/or follow Take On Mars on Facebook and Twitter.

Wargaming Reveals Grand Final 2015 First Details

2015/01/28

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

January 28, 2015 — Wargaming is excited to announce that the Wargaming.net League 2015 Grand Finals will be taking place on April 25–26 at EXPO XXI in Warsaw, Poland. Organized with support from the city of Warsaw, the event will see the 12 finest World of Tanks teams clash in a series of high-octane battles to determine who deserves the title of the world champion.

“The biggest WGL eSports event is about to start its engine,” said Mohamed Fadl, eSports Director of Europe and North America at Wargaming. “The recent revamp of tournament rules changed the surface of WGL eSports. Soon, we’ll see the best of the best meet in the final face-off in what’s set to be a breathtaking and action-packed Grand Finals.”

“I’m delighted that Warsaw, for a second time in a row, will be hosting the best World of Tanks pro players,” said Michal Olszewski, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw. “It’s thanks to the excellent cooperation and the great atmosphere of last year’s event that organizers decided to choose the Polish capital once again for the Grand Finals. The previous tournament gathered masses of spectators and I hope that this year will be another resounding success.”

Ahead of last season’s regional qualifiers, the Wargaming.net League introduced a revamped tournament format, coming up with Attack/Defense mode. The new setup and rules were developed in cooperation with pro gamers to strengthen gameplay and streamline objectives in eSports matches for World of Tanks. Whether playing in attack or in defense, teams now have to take a proactive role in order to win, enhancing the tournament’s entertainment value. Having no chance of a draw, players must seize the initiative in battle to ensure victory. The teams had one season to refine their tactics and master the new setup.

During its first year, the Wargaming.net League has attracted over 200,000 pro gamers and hosted over 1000 tournaments. Drawing on the enthusiasm of Wargaming, its players and fans, the upcoming Grand Finals are set to be an even larger spectacle than last year’s event.

The 2015 Grand Finals will be free to the public, with a variety of prizes and exclusive giveaways for the most passionate spectators.

For more information on the Wargaming.net League Grand Finals, please visit:

www.thegrandfinals.com

Tt eSports Announces Commander Gaming Gear Combo

2015/01/28

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Peripherals News

Taipei, Taiwan – January, 28, 2015 – Tt eSPORTS, the energetic and powerful challenger unveils the new COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo. The new COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo offers gamers with the enhancements on Tt eSPORTS’s keyboard and mouse specifications, allowing gamers to own both powerful weapons in this one combo. With a new design for the keyboard that symbolizes gamers’ spirit, this new combo consist great features on what gamers need and make them true leaders that will take command of the game.

The New COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard

The COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard was designed with metal-looking edges which symbolizes its powerful spirit as a true leader. The splendid look with blue illumination designed to have a feel of trendy whenever you commanding it and features Tt Type II Plunger Switch with the same design of Mechanical key cap, gives users an awesome tactile feel and pleasing click with each keystroke plus presenting response feeling like a mechanical switch that surely improve users’ gaming performance by giving users speed and responsiveness like never before. COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard’s keycaps can be replaced to provide a tougher, more resolute feel to key presses too. Offering users a fun way to customize their keyboards with a metallic feel and deliver a unique user experience!

The COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard also offers cool functions like Repeat Rate, the speed at which it repeats, can be fast or slow. Choose a repeat rate that matches gamers’ comfort level. The Switcher, where they can easily switch WASD keys to ↑↓←→ or vice versa! Finally the Windows Lock, where gamers can lock the windows key preventing accidental presses of the windows key while in-game.

Everything is adjustable on-the-fly, software is no longer needed! Containing multimedia keys, shortcut keys, lighting keys and function key that provide tremendous accessibility at gamers’ fingertips. Besides the functional keys, the COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard brings style and night-time functionality straight to your desktop! Fully keyboard with fabulous blue LEDs with stunning adjustable illumination back lighting allowing you to battle in the dark! With all this amazing and easy functional keys, gamers can command the game like a true chief!

The New COMMANDER Gaming Mouse

The COMMANDER Gaming Mouse offers a perfect speed in game with on-the-fly sensitivity up to 2400 DPI and OMRON switches provide a crisp clean click with a life cycle of 5 million clicks. Additionally, the COMMANDER Gaming Mouse also built with a comfortable palm grips to keep gamers comfortable while they are focusing on their games. Moreover, the COMMANDER Gaming Mouse will light the side panels and battle dragon logo display giving gamers an awesome look allowing them to battle at night to boost gamers’ battle experience. This will surely allow gamers to command in the whole gameplay!

The New COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo with a suggested price of USD 29.99

For more information on the new COMMANDER Gaming Gear Combo, please visit:

The New COMMANDER Gaming Keyboard : http://www.ttesports.com/productPage.aspx?p=188

The New COMMANDER Gaming Mouse :

http://www.ttesports.com/productPage.aspx?p=187

Tt eSPORTS official website and community websites:

Tt eSPORTS official website: http://www.ttesports.com/
Tt eSPORTS product video link: http://www.youtube.com/user/TteSports
Tt eSPORTS Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/TteSPORTS
Tt eSPORTS Instagram: http://instagram.com/ttesports

Razer Launches Arena Competition Ecosystem Software

2015/01/28

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, in partnership with Las Vegas-based Gaming-Grids, today announced the first phase launch of Razer Arena, a new competitive gaming ecosystem for everyone. The service will be powered by the voice chat gaming messenger, Razer Comms.

Razer Arena is a web-based platform that brings together competitive gaming tools typically reserved for professional-level gamers. With automatic match creation and reporting, tournament and match lobbies, match notifications, and more, Razer Arena provides a seamless experience without the hassle of uploading screenshots or replays. Razer Arena also allows match teammates and opponents to easily communicate.

In the first phase, users will be able to participate in daily challenge cups to get familiar with the tournament platform, as well as participate in tournaments produced by selected partners.

In the second phase, slated for March 2015, users will be able to host their own private tournaments. Successful Razer Arena tournaments may be featured alongside professionally organized events.

Razer Arena will feature:

Automatic match creation and reporting
Match-reminder notifications
In-game voice chat powered by Razer Comms
Chat lobbies for the most social and interactive gaming experience powered by Razer Comms
Anti-cheat engine to ensure fair play
Single elimination format
Custom competition creation and management with friends, schoolmates and colleagues – Coming March 2015

“Tournament platforms focus heavily on the professional gaming scene, leaving out the majority of gamers,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “That ends today with Razer Arena. Finally it’s easy to find the best gamers in your school or your office. There are competitions for every skill level, from casual to pro. You decide how and with whom you compete.”

Gaming Grids President and CEO Dana Garvey says: “We are very excited to partner with Razer on the Razer Arena platform. Razer’s devotion to the gaming industry and e-Sports is once again demonstrated with this latest product.”

Collegiate Star League Founder Duran Parsi says: “We’re pretty excited to be able to give each of our universities the ability to run their own training competitions and qualifiers leading up to the season. Razer Arena provides both users and organizers an amazing platform to run competitions in the smoothest way possible.”

At launch, Razer Arena will support the following titles:

Battlefield 4
Dota 2
Counterstrike: Global Offensive

Game developers that are interested in learning more about integrating their game with Razer Arena can go to http://developer.razerzone.com/arena.

Tournament Organizers can apply to run tournaments during beta period athttp://www.razerzone.com/arena/. Once out of beta, tournament organization tools will be made available to everyone.

Blackguards 2 Video Guide Part 1

2015/01/27

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

January 27, 2015 — Today Daedalic Entertainment is making available the first of four video walkthrough guides for Blackguards 2, their new Strategy-RPG for PC & Mac.

These videos show some of the new features of the game, and give useful tips to help you become an undefeatable conqueror in the dark land of Southern Aventuria.

Blackguards 2, the sequel to Daedalic’s successful fantasy SRPG Blackguards, is available worldwide via Steam, GOG and other major online stores. The game puts you in the role of Cassia, a young noble out for revenge against those who unjustly imprisoned her. Recruit mercenaries, learn powerful skills and discover fantastic weapons on your quest for revenge and conquest as your fight nail-biting turn-based battles in a magical fantasy realm.